Sebastian Vettel 's run of four successive victories ended on Sunday , but the German 's remarkable drive in Abu Dhabi kept him in pole position to become Formula One 's youngest triple world champion .

After being disqualified from Saturday 's qualifying due to a technical infringement , the Red Bull star was allowed to start from the pit lane -- but still managed to finish third after one of the most chaotic races this season .

His heroic showing overshadowed Kimi Raikkonen 's first victory since 2009 , and ended the Finn 's slim hopes of a second world title ahead of the final two races .

Vettel 's lead was cut by three points to 10 as main rival Fernando Alonso finished second for Ferrari , and the Spaniard said he was happy after improving from sixth on the starting grid .

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`` We were not super competitive this weekend . We had to fight through the laps , then we had a good strategy that gave us a chance for the victory , but second was the maximum , '' Alonso said .

The top three benefited by the withdrawal of Lewis Hamilton , who seemed set for his first victory since Monza in September as he raced clear .

However , the 2008 world champion suffered yet another mechanical problem as his McLaren developed fuel pressure problems -- it was the second time in five races the Englishman has retired while leading .

`` I 'm gutted . I feel certain we could have won , '' said Hamilton , who will switch to the Mercedes team next year .

`` I was just entering a corner and the car just died on me . I was cruising and still pulling away when I had my problem . ''

Vettel 's hopes seemed bleak early in the race after he twice made contact with other cars and suffered minor damage -- but that was nothing compared to the scrapes in which his Red Bull teammate Mark Webber was involved .

The safety car was called out twice , which worked in Vettel 's favor , and Webber failed to finish after tangles with Williams ' Pastor Maldonado and Ferrari 's Felipe Massa and then a terminal shunt from Sauber 's Sergio Perez which also took out Lotus ' Romain Grosjean .

`` The second safety car helped , then I had a nice fight with Jenson -LRB- Button -RRB- . It was a thrilling grand prix , up and down all the time , '' said Vettel , who won in Abu Dhabi in 2009-10 but retired last year with his second world title already in the bag .

`` There are still two races to go . We saw how things can change yesterday . There was a chance we could screw it up , but we did n't do that . ''

Webber 's DNF meant that Red Bull will have to wait another race before clinching a third successive manufacturers ' title -- holding a lead of 82 points over Ferrari with 86 still on offer .

Jenson Button helped McLaren stay third as he finished fourth ahead of Maldonado , while Japanese driver Kamui Kobayashi improved his hopes of another season at Sauber by placing sixth .

Massa , who has had his Ferrari contract extended by another year , was seventh ahead of Bruno Senna -- who gave Williams a second driver in the top 10 despite an early collision with Sauber-bound Nico Hulkenberg .

Force India 's Paul di Resta was ninth after his teammate Hulkenberg 's early exit while Toro Rosso 's Daniel Ricciardo -- who earned Vettel 's anger after causing him front-wing damage -- was 10th .

Raikkonen , the 2007 world champion , delivered Lotus ' first victory this season as he continued a consistent return to F1 that has put him third in the overall standings -- but now 57 points behind Vettel with only 50 points available .

`` It 's been a hard season , not an easy time , but hopefully this gives us more belief , '' said Raikkonen , who will stay at Lotus for the second year of his contract .

`` I hope this can turn the tables and give us many more wins , if not this year then for next year . ''

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Kimi Raikkonen wins Abu Dhabi Grand Prix but Sebastian Vettel retains overall lead

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Vettel finishes third despite starting the race from pit lane due to qualifying infringement

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His main title rival Fernando Alonso cuts the gap to 10 points by finishing second

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Vettel 's Red Bull team must wait to clinch manufacturers ' title after Mark Webber does not finish